Sean and Brittney | Babymoon Shoot turned Tiki-Suite-Surprise Proposal!
The plan started with a family member’s call on behalf of the couple. She said she had someone who wanted to propose with photos of the surprise engagement, and he had rented out a floating hotel room - the Tiki Suite! - as the location.
The only trouble was, it’s a location accessible only by boat, there would be nowhere for me to hide, and so we had to think: how could I get there without tipping off the girlfriend? The solution? Schedule the day as a surprise “maternity shoot” for the expecting couple, and let the rest of the plan fall into place with the camera at the ready!
Such was the gameplan for Sean and Brittney’s magical and romantic ocean-going proposal session!
Press “PLAY” To Watch the SLIDESHOW below!
But let’s get one thing straight…making the day special is nothing new to Sean! Their very first meeting, Brittney and Sean had serendipitously ended up in the same location with two different groups. He spotted her from across the room, and wasting no time to get to know her better, he asked her out. A romantic dinner followed, and (as they say) the rest was history.
Not only did Sean plan the photoshoot as a complete surprise to Brittney, he had the entire day planned to a “t”. Since she would not know until the day of, he picked out two outfits for her so that she would have something nice to wear, and arranged to make sure her hair and nails were done before they left home for Key West.
The morning started with brunch in Bahama Village and walking the streets of Key West. They went to a few popular tourist spots and made sure to take a photo by the Southernmost Buoy, a popular photo op’ on the island.
As the day continued, it was time for them to arrive for their photo shoot!
We started in Truman Annex, a gated community in the heart of old town Key West, and where my studio is also located. This neighborhood was built in the late 80’s and designed to look like historic Key West, so it’s a great place to capture images that are reminiscent of the classic paradise architecture and old world Key West feel.
As we walked through Truman Annex, we stopped to take photos by the many areas of tropical greenery, the colorful flowers, and the iconic Banyan tree.
Brittney was absolutely killing it in her maternity photos. Never one to be content with just the typical “stand there and smile sweetly” photos, I stretched the bounds of her trust in me by encouraging a few slightly more dramatic and ambitious angles. Despite the obvious physical challenges of posing while pregnant, and the natural sense of vulnerability anyone would feel while having their photos taken by a total stranger in a flowing translucent gown, Brittney had no fear and nailed the striking stances and facial expressions of a seasoned supermodel.
As we neared the end of this set of images, Brittney would admit later that she had thought the session was drawing to completion. But then, Sean surprised her, sharing that we had indeed set up a second location to visit, even more special than the first!
It was at this time that they went into the studio, and changed into formal attire. I drove them to the boat dock, where Brittney’s confusion continued, wondering why she was dressed up so fancy just to get onto a boat.
The boat captain welcomed us onto the little taxi boat, and drove us out of Garrison Bight Marina, through the mooring field where dozens of sailboats live anchored offshore, and navigated through the harbour until we looked out and saw none other than a floating tiki hut!
We were able to pull right up to the aptly-named “Tiki Suite”, and Sean and I continued to play it off that this was just a second location to take more couples and maternity photos.
The Tiki Suite is literally a floating hotel room, complete with bedroom, bathroom, and a little kitchenette, flanked on both sides by double doors that open up to view the ocean, and a small porch with lounge chairs so that you can sit and watch the sunset.
For our purposes though, we used it as an impromptu photo studio, incorporating the huge luxurious bed and the stunning views in the background to capture more images of the couple.
By now it was late afternoon, and the sun was slowly starting to get closer to the horizon, allowing me to get some gorgeous backlit images of her beautiful baby bump with nothing but blue ocean behind her.
Using the width of the porch area to my advantage, I positioned Brittney so that she would be looking off in the distance. While I continued to give her direction and input on getting “just the right shot”, Sean was behind her, getting into position for the big moment!
When she turned around, it all finally made sense, and her reaction that followed was perfect!
When I would later ask Brittney about the experience, she said she “prays to remember May 25th for the rest of her life,” and that “Sean did such an amazing job keeping everything discrete so I was totally oblivious to the day of events we had in store. Every intricate detail, the time, effort, and love he put into our babymoon-turned-engagement trip was more than anything I could have imagined and more! It was truly a magical evening saying yes to the man of my dreams, to a beautiful sunset, and the sounds of waves crashing against our tiki suite. I would say yes to him a thousand times just to re-live that day over and over again.”
![]Martin-The Tiki Suite Engagement -engagement session, floating hotel, key west engagement, key west photographer, pop the question, proposal, secret engagement, surprise, tiki suite, undercover.jpg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56b671e4859fd050c65b1a5f/1625542547079-WR4AON6156HRRJ6I9KJE/%5DMartin-The+Tiki+Suite+Engagement+-engagement+session%2C+floating+hotel%2C+key+west+engagement%2C+key+west+photographer%2C+pop+the+question%2C+proposal%2C+secret+engagement%2C+surprise%2C+tiki+suite%2C+undercover.jpg)
With a little celebratory gift bag from the owners of the Tiki Suite, we wrapped up with final congratulations and goodbyes, and the couple waved us off as we boarded the taxi boat that would return us to land, while they stayed on the tiki for the night to celebrate their newfound engagement in paradise!
This was truly an incredible experience for me to be a part of, and I wish Sean and Brittney a lifetime of happiness, not only as they embark toward their wedding and a life together, but in their soon-to-be reality as first time parents as well. Congratulations, and thank you for inviting me to be part of this special time in your relationship!
